Molly Sheridan
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Molly

Did Someone Say Toast?

toast
October 25, 2010 By In eat me, three points kitchen

Toast, as friends well know, is one of my most favorite comfort foods. An odd choice for a wannabe foodie, perhaps, but I am the kind of low-rent aficionado who can still appreciate the power of crispy bread smothered in peanut butter. Especially when dad makes it.

My father being absent and my store-bought bread being moldy (ewwww, I hate that) when I went to make my midnight snack last night, I decided to stir up a batch of no-knead bread before retiring. This bit of yeasty deliciousness has already been blogged about endlessly elsewhere, but in the face of fancier loaves I had half-forgotten about my once go-to breakfast standby. Consider this post a shout out reminder for anyone else who may have also unintentionally pushed the recipe to the back of the box. It’s endlessly forgiving of sloppy measurement and substitutions. I like to cut the water down to 1.5 cups and sub in a cup of rye flour and some caraway seeds when I’m feeling fancy.  And if you have a fear of bread baking and have actually never even tried it, you can put that one to rest right now. If you can stir, you are prepared to succeed here.

Now if you’ll pardon me, I think I hear some fresh toast popping up!

Eggplant Endgame

eggplant
October 14, 2010 By In eat me, three points kitchen

So, I don’t stalk the Smitten Kitchen exactly (ahem), but the growing season being the growing season, I also happened to have three small eggplants that needed to be put to a good use tonight (okay, probably two nights ago–it’s been a long week!). So at the end of the workday, into the oven they and the tomatoes and garlics and onions went. Roast, roast, simmer, simmer, blend, season, and BAM!–there was soup.

I swapped Penzeys sweet (2 tsp) and hot (1 tsp) curry powder for the thyme, and tahini and lemon for the cream. It ain’t the prettiest dish I’ve ever made, but it is dee-lish. Promise.

Meditations in Green

haul102101
October 3, 2010 By In eat me, three points kitchen

Every Saturday I start off my farmers’ market shopping with a visit to the bean stall for fear that it might be my last chance to eat fresh limas or crowder peas ’till next year. However, since I still had some of last week’s produce to use up before launching into the fresh ingredients, I put the beans in the fridge and made up for lost time with several ingredient-interlocking recipes.

Leek and Swiss Chard Tart

A leek and swiss chard tart, but with an olive oil crust. Less work, but also no flakiness. I’m remain undecided about this one…

Eggplant, Swiss Chard, Mozzarella, and Sun Dried Tomato Stromboli

The dough is via the King Arthur Flour Company, but the filling is courtesy the leftover roasted eggplant, mozz, swiss chard, and sun dried tomatoes in my fridge. Always amazed at how a fresh wrapping makes for an exciting new meal.

Leek, Butternut Squash and Potato Soup

Too pressed for time to peel a squash at this point, I cheated and used a couple of sweet potatoes to make this soup. No one complained.

When Libras Decide: Birthday Edition

bdaycake1
October 2, 2010 By In eat me, three points kitchen

I am a Libra to the core, a woman who can spend 10 minutes in a supermarket aisle just trying to decide on the best bathroom cleaner to buy.

However, with so many birthdays coming up, we have decided(!) to have a Libra birthday potluck this weekend (an event three years in the making). Everyone has to pick a dish to bring! There may also be fun party games, like choosing the best whiskey or deciding which movie to watch. The Virgos will referee.

In a fit of bravery, I volunteered to bake the celebratory cake since I had so recently been schooled by Rebecca in the basic techniques of the process. I have to say, if I can get from flour sifting to cake stand without crying, this recipe is a no-stress keeper for pretty much anyone interested in having a non-box party cake in their repertoire.

Fried Doughnuts Are Totally Good For You (Psychologically Speaking)

donuts_tight11
September 25, 2010 By In eat me, three points kitchen

Rebecca risked a frying injury to once again make us the kind of home-made treats you almost forget can be made at home. We stayed out of the line of oil and kept our attention on the melting chocolate.

Rebecca adds: These were too good to not try again, with chocolate. Also presented an opportunity for the culinary anthropologist in me to compare recipes old and new: one from the classic 1950 Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook handed down to our host Dayna, and one from a recent Better Homes and Gardens, based on a 1953 recipe. Each offers clues to shifting tastes and lifestyles. The 1950 Betty Crocker version calls only for shortening, no mention of butter at all, and has half the cinnamon and nutmeg of the 2010 recipe, real indicators of how we’ve become accustomed to spicier foods and have rejected everyday use of “miracle” space-age foods like hydrogenated shortening for good, old-fashioned butter. Although interesting to see branding at work even in the 1950 cookbook, which specifies Gold Medal flour.

Sorry, Betty. We went with the 2010 BH&G version that had worked so well before, replacing the cinnamon and nutmeg with Penzeys Baking Spice (a mix of nutmeg, two kinds of cinnamon, anise, mace and cardamom—if you don’t know this great mail-order spice company, check it out now!), which added a nice depth of flavor. Double-dipped them with a simple chocolate glaze and celebrated the harvest moon with fall-themed sprinkles from Dayna’s Maryland cupboard.

The results, as pronounced by recently turned two-year-old god-daughter Zora: “Dee-li-shush.” We agreed.

One more time: Best Doughnuts

Good Clean Dirt

eggs
September 22, 2010 By In eat me, three points kitchen

I don’t recall where it came from, but I loved this Alice Waters-ish anecdote I heard about a school kid on a farm visit refusing to eat a carrot pulled from the field because “it touched dirt.” Not that I mean to imply that I’m so much more salt of the earth. My suburban-raised self would have shuddered to feel something soft and feathery on the bottom of an egg while cracking a few open for a quick dinner frittata (making use of my roasted veggie leftovers–you taught me well, Rebecca!). These days, however, farm eggs so fresh they bring a bit of the nest along with them just feel so much cleaner somehow.